Phayne
[▬▬(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)▬▬]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Ceil almost had to look on either side of himself to see if he was mistaken. There was simply no reason for this guy opposite him to wave towards him, much less smile in his direction. Did he have something on his face? Ceil raised a hand towards his mask and wiped away, assuming that there was something on his face. Feeling nothing, Ceil raised a brow in confusion at the guy opposite him whilst also giving him a half hearted wave in return. Seeing as there was nothing more to do, Ceil looked ahead once more and increased his pace.
...
It was another lap into the fifteen before Ceil's attention was drawn away from the task at hand. Whilst the earlier instance had been a quick movement in his direction that had caught his eye, this second interruption was far more direct; now he was being addressed in a straight forward manner. Tsukiko's question had caught his ear, the directness of which she had inquired about his mask more than enough to warrant more of his attention then the wave had earlier.
Ceil glanced over his shoulder towards the girls direction, acknowledging her attempts to garner his attention. At first glance, the young lass outwardly appeared to struggle with the pace that Ceil had been running at, though considering that this was still essentially a warm up task, it seemed rather odd that she would be breathless. Eyes scanning the girl, Ceil attempted to recall any prior instances where he may have met her, perhaps overhearing her name spoken at any point over the last few months, however his attempts to recall any knowledge of her was all in vain; Ceil was drawing blanks. Unfamiliar with who Tsukiko was, Ceil soon found his eyes drawn towards the eye patch that she wore. It was inevitable that his eyes would fall upon her unique choice of attire; a point of interest that like his own mask was probably the cause for many unwanted stares. He couldn't even recall how many times he had been stopped over the last few months simply because of his mask.
Sighing, Ceil slowed his pace down ever so slightly, matching his speed to that of Tsukiko so as to better communicate with her. Without his 'Etch A Sketch' on him and no other tool on hand to communicate with, Ceil simply shook his head sideways to convey his answer. No, his mask was not made from Ebony. Beyond the shake of his head, there was little more he could do to get his message across, aside from physically removing his mask and allowing her to inspect it herself; alas that was not going to happen. Whilst more than willing to respond to her question, Ceil was not a fool. He wasn't going to just hand over his mask to a person whose name he didnt even know, much less allow one of his prized possessions to fall into the hands of a complete stranger, especially someone whose sheer presence was enough to cause Ceil to be on guard. Call it a sixth sense or an animalistic instinct, but Ceil felt a wave of unease sweep over him the moment she had approached. Despite the friendly facade that she was portraying; a performance executed very well, Ceil could sense something far deeper and darker. Unlike the other students here, this girl exuded a different type of aura, one that isolated her from the rest. While unable to pinpoint the cause for his unease, Ceil was certain that she was no untrained lamb seeking guidance; this girl was experienced.
Adamant that she was not as she seemed, Ceil made a mental note to keep an eye on her, especially during this training excercise. Considering the state of several of the students around them, Ceil was confident that by the end of this training course, only a handful of the 'normal' students would remain.